Book Review: A Monster Calls

It was a normal, unremarkable night before work and I was busy doing my usual of browsing through Facebook to kill some time when I came across a post of books that would soon be released as movies.  I didn't open the post, but the book that was featured in the photo caught my eye and looked interesting. Yes, I sometimes do judge a book by its cover.  I don't usually review books, because I don't feel well adapted at translating into plain words how a book affected me or what emotions I felt afterwards.  This book, however, demanded it of me.

The cover was actually so intense and captivating that I decided to pick up the book and read it.  The book was A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness.  I read between 80 to 95 books a year, typically, and yet this book was a first for me. This was probably the most intense and skillfully written book I have read in years!  (If you read the e-book, you miss out on the spooky yet gorgeous artwork that accompanies the story)

It is not a true fairy tale, a modern one perhaps, but not in the sense you are expecting by the cover. Please do not let that stop you from reading it. Here is what I have to say on my experience with doing so:

No words.  I have no words for what this book did to me on so many levels. The strange thing about it?  It was that it was such outstanding writing...though it was very well written. And it wasn't that it was a book that would change my life and perspective, such as The Alchemist or The Giver.

But one truth I can honestly lay out here... of the thousands of books I have read, I can honestly say this is the first time that a book has ever made me feel so disturbed and unsettled that I felt actual physical nausea from the raw emotions and truth it pulled out of me. This book reached in found every hidden pain and fear I have ever experienced and ripped them screaming from my soul and left me a fragile, sobbing shell of the person I was just hours beforehand.

I simply laid the book down and, still breathless and sobbing, stared at it for a solid 10 minutes before I could form a single rational thought in my own head.

I did not read any review or summary of this book before I picked it up and that was the key, that was a huge part of the magic that enabled this tale to blow me away.  And, as I encourage you to do the same, I will try my best not to provide any spoilers here.

All I will say that this book can show how that, though good and evil do tend to be black and white, we as humans are often color blind and fail to see the purity of truth. Remember, Fairy tales were not always filled with princesses and white knights, but rather, they were once used to teach us a truth that we all needed to learn and to show us a way and a reason to face those truths.

I feel secure in saying that this book will be unlike any you have read lately and, though I do not think I have the willpower and inner strength to read it again, I cannot imagine having scrolled on past that post and having not had the privilege and honor of reading it the first time.

I will leave you with this one last thing, a quote that is a particular favorite of mine that puts me in mind of this book: "Fairy Tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten." 

Snow Storm Fun!

They were calling for over a foot of snow, but all we got was around 6" (8" in some areas).  But that was still plenty of snow to enjoy some night time sledding with my family!

We sure bundled up though, I was wearing 3 layers of thick clothes and still freezing!!

Happy Snowmagedon 2016!  :D

 

 

Team Whiplash: Cowpens, SC

The Upper South Carolina area is a dream come true for Geocoin collectors!! With many incredible reward trails to choose from, these amazing and dedicated folks have worked tirelessly to make their slice of home a virtual paradise for cachers who have a passion to learn and experience history as well as those who crave the more tangible rewards of a free coin for doing that which we love to do anyways.

There cannot be enough thanks and gratitude sent out for all that they have done for the rest of us and I am taking a moment here to give you my personal Thank You from the bottom of my heart!

It is thanks to these fantastic trails that Team Whiplash was able to once again assemble and pile ourselves into the Mischief Machine for another exuberant day of pure caching bliss!! 

Having already completed all but the Inman trail (yes, you've seen these in my previous posts), and since my fellow team members were actually insane enough to let me take charge, I decided that another shiny new coin was exactly what I needed to make my world perfect.  And far from minding doing one of the other trails again, I actually adore taking people out to these trails and being a part of their own happy experience, it was decided that they would derive the most pleasure from completing the Cowpens trail for the first half of the day. 

Not only does it have some of the most entertaining caches set about the most charmingly quaint small town you can imagine, it also has the most colorful and eye-catching reward coin that you can claim right on the spot if you make it to the local library in time! 

On our way down, we discovered that this was to be Paula's (Scouter Mom) first SC geocache! She was going to finally achieve her SC souvenir for her geocaching page.  I decided that we should make it a good one and take her to one of my favorite caches from the trail.  In full disclosure, it is not the cache itself which makes you take a few extra moments to gaze in wonder, it is the magnificent site at which they chose to place this particular cache...at a mural- the U.S.S Cowpens.  When you go, which I know you WANT to after reading this, remember to bring your camera!  Congrats to Scouter Mom on her SC souvenir:

As this was my third time taking this particular tour, I was able to navigate easily and, though I did not tell them where they were located, it did not take us long to make our way around the trail and find the caches.  It took just 2 hours to complete the entire tour that day and no one was disappointed with the creativity and thought put into these hides. 

In a short stretch of time, you will find yourself at a memorial to lives lost in a flood, on a lovely short walk in the woods, on a pleasant stroll past windows filled with many interesting and unique items, and face to face with a new bovine friend. There is just no down side to making this quest!

Although there are 15 caches total, you only have to complete 12 of them to receive your coin...but really, they are not difficult and all are amazing, so why not go for the gold and get them all?!?  You can download your passport and print it out from the geocaching website and then you just fill in the squares as you find the caches. Couldn't be any easier!!
 
After completing the trail, we found our bellies rumbling and decided to show our appreciation to the town by enjoying some of their local fair. The enticing smells had been calling to us all morning and there was no way we could escape town without partaking in at least a little something!

Team Whiplash enjoying a brief and delicious
hiatus

Our fellow team member Atlasymm suggested the BBQ place we had passed and so we found ourselves standing in the midst of some of the most enticing smells we had ever known. The staff was warm and inviting and the food was phenomenal! Some of the best BBQ we have ever had. We were all around super pleased with our visit and if you are in the area, I don't think you could go wrong if you stopped in as well. But not to seem like I am being biased or paid...the Big Red Barn was also a delight on my last stop through and would be offer a homey and relaxed respite from a day of caching as well.

  
As much fun as this trail was, I believe each other's company is what made it a truly memorable affair.  Conversations with random statements such as "This is what it would look like if Lorena Bobbit were to hide a cache" and "The trick to it is how you aim your fingers" were also mingled among general awe at some of the sites we came upon and the beauty we found there. (Though you most certainly can enjoy and complete this trail with no problem flying solo, so have no fear of venturing out there, it really is a lovely and friendly town!)

And if you get done quickly, there are always more trails nearby that you can tackle and just as much fun to be had! Here are a few shots from our time in Cowpens and a shot of Susan holding the gorgeous reward coin you receive at the end!

We rescued a drowning baby

One of my other favorite stop offs on the trail



Look! I found a Susan hidden
in this tree!
 



One of the team's favorite of the day!



Team Whiplash: Gastonia

Team Whiplash

My fellow members of Team Whiplash, Atlasymm and Scouter Mom, and I were meeting for breakfast on New Year's morning and decided to have an impromptu day of Geocaching fun!  After some small debate on whether to go for maintenance or pleasure, we settled on the obvious choice...the pure bliss of finding someone else's caches!

We decided that Gastonia would be a fun pick and so we packed up our gear and headed out to pile into the Mischief-Mobile to explore caches unknown.

We only had a very short 2 hours to fit in as much as we could and so we kept to the caches that had the most favorite points. There were two that specifically stuck out in my mind and those are the ones I am going to focus on sharing today.

The first because I am constantly amazed at the things that actually come out of a Muggle's mouth when they are asking what we are doing, and the second because of the sheer unexpected diversion and artistry that we discovered.

One of the first sites to us to a cache named Old Glory. The cache was named after a very expansive and impressive American flag painted on the side of a building. It was not situated in the most upscale part of the town and, as a Muggle was soon to point out, there were sometimes some less than savory characters that seemed to have claimed this particular corner for themselves. 

 We arrived near GZ and decided to park a little bit down, seeing as the street was somewhat busy that day.  As we are walking up the sidewalk to get to the side of the building where the flag and cache are placed, a man who had been hanging out on the steps behind the gate walks up to us what kind of business we are up to on this corner. It was then that Susan proceeds to inform him that we are that day's "first shift".   I was unsure whether he realized she was joking or not but he did not seem to be the best of characters to be hanging around either, so we got our photos, signed the log, and after some more stimulating interaction with Mr. Crazy, we laughed all the way back to the van!

I must admit, that is one of the more unusual excuses I've heard for trying to explain away geocaching to a Muggle!

Fortunately, the next fun memory of that day was a bit less shocking and rather more elegant in design. 

We began our search for the cache called Snow White and it was one of those moments that remind you of why you started Geocaching in the first place!  All of us, in the past, have spent quite a bit of time traveling to and around the town of Gastonia, but not a single one of us had ever had the privilege of stumbling upon the quaint and touching park that has been hidden in the middle of the downtown area.  To have missed this moment would, in my opinion, have been a crying shame. 

What a charming secret was hidden there!!  The cache itself is not given away in any of these photos, so do not worry about a spoiler.  When we pulled up, we parked right in front of the cutest old-fashioned looking police station that also serves as a museum and I knew right from that moment that this was going to be one of those times when the journey and seeking are more important than the actual find.  I admit that I was more delighted than I can explain or understand by the round street light with word Police written on them, I still don't know why they captured my attention so strongly. But they did and so I took a photo to remember them with.

Though I am still not 100% sure what the proper name of this park was, I do know that a lot of love and planning had gone into make it a peaceful breath of fresh air in the midst of concrete giants. It was a fitting dedication to the natural history and industrial heritage of the area.

There was a fountain, which was not running due to the Winter season, and also a large amphitheater which would make this spot perfect for summer night concerts. There were also many interesting statues and sculptures that appeared at first to be made of brick but upon some research, we found that they were made of plaster and painted in great detail to appear to be bricks.

It is here that I will simply leave you with some random pictures of the park and the statues/fountain inside (note the words written that can be found on family statue and the ground surrounding it). 

If you ever get the chance to visit and cache in the Gaston County area, I would highly recommend that you visit this particular cache and that you plan to take a few extra moments out of your time to simply sit and meditate on the quiet beauty surrounding you.

 A most sincere and heartfelt thank you to Crescent Trekkers for placing both of the caches I have mentioned today!

Look closely and you will see the sign
for the famous Tony's Ice Cream!!

2016: Year of the Chipmunk

I just realized that it has been 6 months since my last blog post! Yikes! I guess life just got to be so busy that time flew past without my noticing.  I woke up today and found that there is an entire half a year that I had forgotten to record so that I could look back on. That is a shame with all of the amazing things that I experienced last year, like visiting the Geocaching HQ, touring Seattle and getting up close and personal with the disappearing ice glaciers in Alaska! I might have to play catch up with some of those stories so as not to let them slip away from memory.

I don't make New Year's resolutions, but rather goals that I would like to see come to fruition, and this year, I think writing in my blog at least once week would be a good goal. 

My second goal for this year, as it was for the last one, is to read 100 books. I fell short by less than 10 books in 2015, but over 90 books is still an impressive amount of words to process in just 52 short weeks and so I was not unhappy with my results in the least!!

Part of my weekly post will hopefully be highlighting some of the books I have read that week as well as some of the geocaching adventures that I might have found.

With geocaching trips planned to Savannah, San Francisco, and (hopefully) Denver, and a whole load of other huge personal changes coming, this year is shaping up to be at least an interesting one!

I'm hoping to make 2016 The Year of the (Ninja) Chipmunk!!